U.S. patent application number 17/408593 was filed with the patent office on 2022-01-06 for capacitive touch panel having diffuser and patterned electrode.
This patent application is currently assigned to GUARDIAN GLASS, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is GUARDIAN GLASS, LLC. Invention is credited to Eric W. AKKASHIAN, Jason J. BLUSH, Willem DEN BOER.
Application Number | 20220004091 17/408593 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-01-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220004091 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DEN BOER; Willem ; et
al. |
January 6, 2022 |
CAPACITIVE TOUCH PANEL HAVING DIFFUSER AND PATTERNED ELECTRODE
Abstract
A projection screen including a capacitive touch panel, such as
a projected capacitive touch panel. The touch panel includes first
and second glass substrates, one of which is patterned (e.g.,
etched with acid or the like) to form a diffuser. A conductive
coating is formed on the patterned surface of the diffuser glass
substrate, and is patterned into a plurality of electrodes for the
touch panel. The system, including an optional projector, may be
used as an interactive transparent display for augmented reality
applications such as storefronts. The touch panel may also be used
in applications such as capacitive touch panels for controlling
showers, appliances, vending machines, electronics, electronic
devices, and/or the like.
Inventors: |
DEN BOER; Willem; (Brighton,
MI) ; BLUSH; Jason J.; (Milford, MI) ;
AKKASHIAN; Eric W.; (Waterford, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GUARDIAN GLASS, LLC |
Auburn Hills |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
GUARDIAN GLASS, LLC
AUBURN HILLS
MI
|
Appl. No.: |
17/408593 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
16747012 |
Jan 20, 2020 |
11099474 |
|
|
17408593 |
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|
15891494 |
Feb 8, 2018 |
10539864 |
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16747012 |
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International
Class: |
G03B 21/56 20060101
G03B021/56; G06F 3/044 20060101 G06F003/044; G03B 21/60 20060101
G03B021/60 |
Claims
1. A touch panel, comprising: first and second glass substrates;
wherein a major first surface of the first glass substrate has a
diffuse surface; a first coating formed on the first glass
substrate, wherein the first coating comprises a conductive layer
and at least one electrode of the touch panel, wherein the first
coating forms the at least one electrode, the at least one
electrode being configured to receive a signal independent from
signals applied to other electrodes of the touch panel, the other
electrodes of the touch panel being disposed around peripheral
edges of the first glass substrate; a processor configured to
determine touch position on the touch panel via changes in an
electrical field of the touch panel measured using the signals
provided to the at least one electrode and the other electrodes;
and wherein the first and second glass substrates are laminated to
each other via a polymer inclusive laminating layer having a
refractive index (n, at 550 nm) of from about 1.47 to 1.55, wherein
the diffuse surface faces the polymer inclusive laminating layer,
and wherein the polymer inclusive laminating layer is located
between the first and second glass substrates of the touch
panel.
2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the processor measures
voltage changes.
3. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the other electrodes are
spaced apart equidistantly from one another.
4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the electrodes are arranged
around opposing edges of the first substrate.
5. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the diffuse surface is an
acid etched surface of the first substrate.
6. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the diffuse surface is
formed at least in part via a thin film layer.
7. The touch panel of claim 6, wherein the thin film layer is the
first coating.
8. The touch panel of claim 7, wherein the thin film layer is
formed on an acid etched surface of the first substrate.
9. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the polymer inclusive
laminating layer is polyvinyl butyral (PVB).
10. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the major first surface of
the first glass substrate is patterned to form the diffuse
surface.
11. The touch panel of claim 10, wherein the major first surface of
the first glass substrate is patterned to have an average surface
roughness of from 0.2 to 26 .mu.m.
12. The touch panel of claim 10, wherein the major first surface of
the first glass substrate is patterned to have an average surface
roughness of from 0.4 to 3.2 .mu.m.
13. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising an
antireflective coating, wherein the antireflective coating is not
located between the first and second glass substrates.
14. The capacitive touch panel of claim 33, wherein the first
coating is partially reflective.
15. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer
comprises one or more of Ag, NiCr, and Al.
16. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer
comprises ITO.
17. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer
comprises a nitrided silicon-inclusive layer.
18. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a display
device.
19. The touch panel of claim 18, wherein the display device is
oriented on a side of the polymer inclusive laminating layer
opposite the first substrate.
20. The touch panel of claim 19, wherein the display device
comprises LEDs.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
16/747,012, filed Jan. 20, 2020, which is a continuation of
application Ser. No. 15/891,494, filed Feb. 8, 2018, the entire
disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety.
[0002] Example embodiments of this invention relate to a projection
screen including a capacitive touch panel, such as a projected
capacitive touch panel. The touch panel includes first and second
glass substrates, one of which is patterned (e.g., etched with acid
or the like) to form a diffuser. A conductive coating is formed on
the patterned surface of the diffuser glass substrate, and is
patterned into a plurality of electrodes for the touch panel. The
system, including an optional projector, may be used as an
interactive transparent display for augmented reality applications
such as storefronts. The touch panel may also be used in
applications such as capacitive touch panels for controlling
showers, appliances, vending machines, electronics, electronic
devices, and/or the like.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Transparent projection screens are known. Transparent
projection screens have utilized two pieces of glass laminated to
each other via an interlayer such as PVB. A diffusing surface has
also been provided.
[0004] However, there is room for improvement in the art with
respect to allowing interactive techniques to be used with
projection screens.
SUMMARY OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0005] Example embodiments of this invention relate to a projection
screen including a capacitive touch panel, such as a projected
capacitive touch panel. The touch panel of the projection screen
includes first and second glass substrates, one of which is
patterned (e.g., etched with acid or the like) to form a diffuser.
A conductive coating is formed on the patterned surface of the
diffuser glass substrate, and is patterned into a plurality of
electrodes for the touch panel. The system, including an optional
projector, may be used as an interactive transparent display for
augmented reality applications such as storefronts. The touch panel
may also be used in applications such as capacitive touch panels
for controlling showers, appliances, vending machines, electronics,
electronic devices, and/or the like.
[0006] In certain example embodiments, the conductive coating used
for the electrodes and/or traces of the touch panel may have
improved conductivity (e.g., smaller sheet resistance R.sub.s or
smaller emissivity, given a similar thickness and/or cost of
deposition) compared to typical indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coatings. In
certain example embodiments, the conductive coating may be a thin
film of or including aluminum. In certain example embodiments, the
conductive coating may be a thin film of or including NiCr. In
certain example embodiments, the conductive coating may be a thin
film of or including ITO. In certain example embodiments, the
conductive coating may be a multi-layer conductive coating such as
NiCr/Ag/NiCr. In certain example embodiments, the conductive
coating may be a multi-layer conductive coating such as
Si.sub.3N.sub.4/NiCr/Ag/NiCr/Si.sub.3N.sub.4, where the silver
inclusive layer is conductive and the silicon nitride based layers
(which may optionally be doped with aluminum and/or oxygen) are
dielectric. The NiCr inclusive layers may be of or including NiCr,
NiCrO.sub.x, NiCrN.sub.x, NiCrMo, NiCrMoO.sub.x, NiCrMoN.sub.x, or
any combination thereof.
[0007] In an example embodiment of this invention, there is
provided a projection screen capacitive touch panel comprising:
first and second glass substrates; wherein a major first surface of
the first glass substrate is acid etched to form a diffuse surface;
a first patterned coating formed on the diffuse surface of the
first glass substrate, wherein the first patterned coating
comprises a conductive layer and is patterned into a plurality of
electrodes of the touch panel, wherein the first patterned coating
forms the electrodes and is formed on the acid etched diffuse
surface to form a partially transparent diffuser on which an image
can be projected from a projector; a processor configured for
determining touch position on the touch panel via at least the
electrodes; and wherein the first and second glass substrates are
laminated to each other via a polymer inclusive laminating layer,
wherein the diffuse surface of the first glass substrate faces the
polymer inclusive laminating layer, and wherein the first patterned
coating and the polymer inclusive laminating layer are located
between the first and second glass substrates of the touch
panel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a side cross sectional view of a projection screen
capacitive touch panel according to an example embodiments of this
invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic view illustrating use and
functionality of a projection screen capacitive touch panel
according to an example embodiments of this invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top or bottom view of an electrode/trace layout
for the projection screen capacitive touch panel of FIG. 1 and/or
FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments of this invention.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0014] A detailed description of exemplary embodiments is provided
with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference
numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
[0015] Example embodiments of this invention relate to a projection
screen including a capacitive touch panel, such as a projected
capacitive touch panel 1. A transparent projection screen 1 may
include a partially transparent diffuser inside a laminated glass
assembly. The touch panel of the projection screen includes first
and second glass substrates 3 and 5, laminated to each other via a
polymer based interlayer 13 of a material such as PVB (polyvinyl
butyral), EVA, Nitto OCA, SentryGlass Plus from DuPont, or the
like. At least one of the glass substrates (e.g., glass substrate
3) is patterned by having been etched with acid or the like to form
a diffuse surface 9 for a diffuser. The acid etched diffuse surface
9 may be in the form of, for example, Satin Deco glass Guardian
Glass which has step pyramid glass structures with substantially
flat tops, or acid etched glass from Guardian Glass which has
rounded features from the etching and random diffuse reflection.
The other glass substrate 5 is typically clear flat glass that is
not acid-etched or otherwise patterned, optionally with an
antireflection (AR) coating 15 on an outer surface thereof. A
conductive coating 7 is formed on the patterned/etched surface 9 of
the diffuser glass substrate 3, and the conductive coating 7 is
patterned into a plurality of electrodes (e.g., see FIGS. 3-5) for
the touch panel. Because the conductive coating 7 is formed on the
etched surface 9 of the glass substrate 3, the conductive coating 7
may be substantially conformal to the peaks and valleys formed at
the etched glass surface 9 from the etching. The diffuse surface
(e.g., acid etched diffuse surface) 9 may have a surface roughness
(Ra) of from 0.2 to 26 .mu.m, more preferably from 0.4 to 3.2
.mu.m, and most preferably from 1 to 3 .mu.m, in certain example
embodiments of this invention.
[0016] The conductive coating 7 may have a surface roughness,
similar to that of the etched glass surface 9 used to form the
diffuser. The projection screen touch panel preferably has a
visible transmission (Ill. A, 2 deg. Obs.) of at least 50%, more
preferably at least 60%.
[0017] Before lamination, the etched glass 3 with the thin coating
7 is substantially opaque because of scattering at the diffuse
surface 9. After lamination with the index matching interlayer 13,
the assembly becomes substantially clear or more clear in both
transmission and reflection, so that have drops to less than 5% and
objects behind the assembly can be clearly seen. The thickness of
the conductive coating 7 may be optimized to transmit from about
50-70% of incident visible light, and so as to be partially
transparent and have a visible reflectance of from about 20-40%.
The conductive coating 7 on the etched surface 9 functions as an
embedded, partially transparent diffuser on which an image can be
projected from the projector 11. The acid etched pattern in the
glass 3 and thin conductive coating 7 may be optimized for either
rear projection or front projection, or both, in various example
embodiments of this invention. Front projection, as an example, is
shown in FIG. 2.
[0018] Touch and touch detection functionality can be achieved on
the transparent projection screen by patterning the conductive
coating 7 into electrodes and traces (e.g., see FIGS. 3-5) for a
capacitive touch panel and connecting the terminals of the pattern
at the periphery to a touch controller including a processor(s).
The coating 7 may be patterned by photolithography, laser
patterning, or the like.
[0019] The system, including an optional projector 11, may be used
as an interactive transparent display for augmented reality
applications such as storefronts. The touch panel 1 may also be
used in applications such as capacitive touch panels for
controlling showers, appliances, vending machines, electronics,
electronic devices, and/or the like.
[0020] In certain example embodiments, the conductive coating 7
used for the electrodes and/or traces of the touch panel 1 may have
improved conductivity (e.g., smaller sheet resistance R.sub.s or
smaller emissivity, given a similar thickness and/or cost of
deposition) compared to typical indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coatings. In
certain example embodiments, the conductive coating 7 may be a thin
film of or including aluminum, which may be from about 2-9 nm
thick, more preferably from about 3-8 nm thick, and most preferably
from about 4-6 nm thick in certain example embodiments. In certain
example embodiments, the conductive coating 7 may be a thin film of
or including NiCr. In certain example embodiments, the conductive
coating 7 may be a thin film of or including ITO. In certain
example embodiments, the conductive coating 7 may be a multi-layer
conductive coating such as NiCr/Ag/NiCr. In certain example
embodiments, the conductive coating 7 may be a multi-layer
conductive coating such as
Si.sub.3N.sub.4/NiCr/Ag/NiCr/Si.sub.3N.sub.4, where the silver
inclusive layer is conductive and the silicon nitride based layers
(which may optionally be doped with aluminum and/or oxygen) are
dielectric. The NiCr inclusive layers may be of or including NiCr,
NiCrO.sub.x, NiCrN.sub.x, NiCrMo, NiCrMoO.sub.x, NiCrMoN.sub.x, or
any combination thereof. Any of the coatings shown and/or described
in any of U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,740,357; 9,733,779, 9,354,755,
9,557,871, 2017/0329166, and 2017/0344157, all incorporated herein
by reference in their entireties, may also be used as the patterned
coating 7, that is patterned into the touch panel electrodes and/or
traces, in embodiments of this invention.
[0021] The capacitive touch panel includes an insulator such as
glass 3 coated with conductive coating 7. As the human body is also
an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the panel results
in a distortion of the panel's electrostatic field, measurable as a
change in capacitance for example. A transparent touch panel may be
combined with a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or
LED panel to form a touchscreen. A projected capacitive (PROCAP)
touch panel, which may optionally include an LCD or other display,
may allow finger or other touches to be sensed through a protective
layer(s) in front of the conductive coating 7.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a top or bottom view of an electrode/trace layout
for the projection screen capacitive touch panel of FIG. 1 and/or
FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments of this invention, where
the conductive coating 7 is patterned into a plurality of
conductive electrodes 20 and conductive traces 21 for the touch
panel. In the FIG. 3 embodiments, the coating 7 may be patterned
into a plurality of individual electrodes 20 as touch buttons, and
traces 21, that cover a large portion of glass substrate 3.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention, showing another way in which the conductive
coating 7 may be patterned to form touch panel circuitry in a
caterpillar pattern for instance. FIG. 4 illustrates a top or
bottom plan layout of a projected capacitive touch panel according
to an exemplary embodiment, that may contain the coating 7
patterned into electrodes and traces. The touch panel includes a
matrix of electrodes x, y including n columns and m rows, provided
on etched substrate 3. The matrix of row/column electrodes x, y
formed by the conductive coating 7 may be provided on the side of
the substrate 3 that is opposite the side touched by person(s)
using the touch panel, in order to prevent corrosion of the
patterned coating 7 by human finger touches, in certain example
embodiments. In other words, when the touch panel is touched by a
finger, stylus, or the like, the glass substrate 3 may be located
between (a) the finger and (b) the matrix of row/column electrodes
x, y and conductive traces 21. Change in capacitance between
adjacent row and column electrodes formed by coating 7 in the
matrix as a result of the proximity of a finger or the like is
sensed by the electronic circuitry, and the connected circuitry can
thus detect where the panel is being touched by a finger or the
like. For example, row 0 includes row electrodes x.sub.0,0,
x.sub.1,0, x.sub.2,0, etc., through x.sub.n,0 and columns 0, 1 and
2 respectively include column electrodes y.sub.0, y.sub.1, y.sub.2,
etc., through y.sub.0. Optionally, the x electrodes in a column
direction may also be grouped for column sensing. The number of row
and column electrodes is determined by the size and resolution of
the touch panel. In this example, the top-right row electrode may
be x.sub.n,m. Each row electrode x.sub.0,0-x.sub.0,0, of the touch
panel is electrically connected to an interconnect area (e.g., at
the periphery of the panel, at one or more sides) and corresponding
processing circuitry/software by a conductive trace 21. Each column
electrode y.sub.0-y.sub.n is also electrically connected to an
interconnect area and corresponding processing circuitry/software,
either directly or by a conductive trace. The conductive traces 21
are preferably formed of the same transparent conductive material 7
as the row and column electrodes. Thus, in certain example
embodiments, the matrix of row and column electrodes x, y and
corresponding traces can be formed by sputter-depositing the
coating 7 on the etched surface of glass substrate 3 and then
performing a small number of photolithography, laser patterning,
and/or other patterning process(es) in order to pattern the coating
7 into the conductive electrodes x, y and/or conductive traces.
Because the row electrodes x.sub.0,0-x.sub.0,m, column electrodes
y.sub.0-y.sub.n, and traces do not overlap as viewed from
above/below in the FIG. 4 embodiment, the row electrodes
x.sub.0,0-x.sub.0,m, column electrodes y.sub.0-y.sub.n, and traces
21 may be formed on the same plane parallel (or substantially
parallel) to glass substrate 3 on which the electrodes and traces
are formed. In the touch panel of FIG. 4, there is a capacitance
between each row electrode and the adjacent column electrode (for
example, between row electrode x.sub.0,0 and column electrode
y.sub.0). This capacitance can be measured by applying a voltage to
a column electrode (for example, column electrode y.sub.0) and
measuring the voltage of an adjacent row electrode (for example,
row electrode x.sub.0,0). When a user brings a finger or conductive
stylus close to the touch panel, changes in the local electrostatic
field reduce the mutual capacitance. Thus, one may be considered a
transmit electrode y.sub.0 and the other a receive electrode
x.sub.0,0. The capacitance change at individual points on the
surface can be measured by measuring each pair of row electrodes
and column electrodes in sequence. The traces 21 of each row
electrode in the same row (for example, the traces of row
electrodes x.sub.0,0, x.sub.1,0, x.sub.2,0, etc., through x.sub.n,0
of row 0) may be electrically connected together. The same
capacitance may be measured by applying a voltage to a row
electrode and measuring the voltage on an adjacent column electrode
rather than applying a voltage to a column electrode and measuring
the voltage of an adjacent row electrode. Signal processing (for
example, applying and measuring voltages, measuring the capacitance
between adjacent electrodes, measuring changes in capacitance over
time, outputting signals in response to user inputs, etc.) may be
performed by a signal processor. The signal processor may be one or
more hardware processors, may include volatile or non-volatile
memory, and may include computer-readable instructions for
executing the signal processing. The signal processor may be
electrically connected to the column electrodes y.sub.0-y.sub.n and
electrically connected to the row electrodes x.sub.0,0-x.sub.n,m
through the traces 21. FIG. 4 also shows that the touch panel
electrodes may be divided into upper section 31 and lower section
32, each of which includes a matrix of electrodes x, y including n
columns and m rows. There is a capacitance between each row
electrode and the adjacent column electrode which may be measured
by applying a voltage to a column electrode and measuring the
voltage of an adjacent row electrode (or, alternatively, by
applying a voltage to a row electrode and measuring the voltage of
an adjacent column electrode). When a user brings a finger or
conductive stylus close to the touch panel, changes in the local
electrostatic field reduce the mutual capacitance. The capacitance
change at individual points on the surface can be measured by
measuring the mutual capacitance of each pair of row electrodes and
column electrodes in sequence.
[0024] FIG. 5 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention, showing another way in which the conductive
coating 7 may be patterned to form touch panel circuitry. The
conductive coating 7 on the etched surface of substrate 3 is
patterned into transmit (T) and receive (R) electrodes, which may
be in the same plane in the FIG. 5 embodiment. The gradient sensor
touch pattern may operate by applying the same pulse signal to all
(T) striped transmit electrodes on one side of the panel (e.g.,
T1), while the touch electrodes are connected to ground on the
other side (e.g., T0). This creates a gradient in the pulse
amplitude, which upon touch can be detected by the processor as the
Y coordinate by the receive (Rn) electrodes. The X coordinate is
based on the location of touch with respect to the individual
receive electrodes (Rn), which may each be connected to separate
amplifiers. The actual distance between the patterned thin
electrodes may be from about 20-100 .mu.m in certain example
embodiments, so that the pattern may have low visibility when
projecting an image on the embedded diffuser screen.
[0025] FIG. 6 is a top or bottom view of another example
electrode/trace layout for the projection screen capacitive touch
panel of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 according to an example embodiments
of this invention, showing another way in which the conductive
coating 7 may be patterned to form touch panel circuitry, including
electrodes on different planes which may be made out of different
conductive coatings 7. The touch panel includes transmit electrodes
(T) and receive (R) electrodes similar to the FIG. 5 embodiment,
except that the transmit electrodes (T) are orthogonal to the
receive electrodes (R) and may be on a different plane and may be
formed from a different coating 7. For example, a first coating 7,
such as aluminum for instance, on the etched surface 9 could be
patterned into a plurality of receive electrodes that are parallel
to each other and extend in the X direction as shown in FIG. 6.
Then, a second coating 7 could be deposited over the patterned
first coating, with the second coating 7 then being patterned into
a plurality of transmit electrodes that are parallel to each other
and extend in the Y direction, as shown in FIG. 6. The second
coating 7 may be formed of aluminum, or may be any of the silver
inclusive coatings shown and/or described in any of U.S. Pat. Nos.
9,740,357; 9,733,779, 9,354,755, 9,557,871, 2017/0329166, and
2017/0344157, all incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties. The first and second coatings 7 may be separated by a
laminating layer such as PVB, EVA, or any of the other laminating
materials mentioned herein. Thus, the X electrodes and the Y
electrodes may be formed of different materials, and be in
different planes, in this example embodiment.
[0026] In an example embodiment of this invention, there is
provided a projection screen capacitive touch panel comprising:
first and second glass substrates; wherein a major first surface of
the first glass substrate is acid etched to form a diffuse surface;
a first patterned coating formed on the diffuse surface of the
first glass substrate, wherein the first patterned coating
comprises a conductive layer and is patterned into a plurality of
electrodes of the touch panel, wherein the first patterned coating
forms the electrodes and is formed on the acid etched diffuse
surface to form a partially transparent diffuser on which an image
can be projected from a projector; a processor configured for
determining touch position on the touch panel via at least the
electrodes; and wherein the first and second glass substrates are
laminated to each other via a polymer inclusive laminating layer,
wherein the diffuse surface of the first glass substrate faces the
polymer inclusive laminating layer, and wherein the first patterned
coating and the polymer inclusive laminating layer are located
between the first and second glass substrates of the touch panel.
The touch panel need not be a projection type panel in certain
example embodiments.
[0027] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of the
immediately preceding paragraph, the conductive layer may be of or
include aluminum.
[0028] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding two paragraphs, the coating may comprise a layer
comprising silver and first and second dielectric layers, wherein
the layer comprising silver is the conductive layer and is located
between at least first and second dielectric layers.
[0029] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding three paragraphs, the first coating may be
substantially conformal to peaks and valleys formed in the acid
etched diffuse surface.
[0030] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding four paragraphs, the electrodes may comprise transmit
electrodes and/or receive electrodes.
[0031] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding five paragraphs, the panel may further comprise an
antireflective coating provided on the second glass substrate,
wherein the antireflective coating is preferably not located
between the first and second glass substrates.
[0032] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding six paragraphs, the polymer inclusive laminating
layer may comprises polyvinyl butyral.
[0033] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding seven paragraphs, the second glass substrate is
preferably not acid etched.
[0034] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding eight paragraphs, the first coating may have a
visible transmission of from about 50-70%.
[0035] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding nine paragraphs, the first coating may be partially
reflective.
[0036] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding ten paragraphs, the touch panel may have a visible
reflectance of from about 20-40%.
[0037] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding eleven paragraphs, the first coating may have a
visible reflectance of from about 15-45%, more preferably from
about 20-40%.
[0038] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding twelve paragraphs, the polymer inclusive laminating
layer may have a refractive index (n, at 550 nm) of from about 1.47
to 1.55.
[0039] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding thirteen paragraphs, the first coating may have a
sheet resistance of less than or equal to about 40 ohms/square.
[0040] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding fourteen paragraphs, the projection screen capacitive
touch panel may be configured to be used as an interactive
transparent display for an augmented reality application, such as
at a storefront.
[0041] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding fifteen paragraphs, the panel may further comprise a
second patterned coating formed on the diffuse surface of the first
glass substrate, wherein the second patterned coating may comprises
a conductive layer and may be patterned into a plurality of second
electrodes of the touch panel. The second electrodes formed by the
second coating may overlap the electrodes formed by the first
coating (or vice versa), and the electrodes formed by the first and
second coatings are preferably configured to allow the processor to
determine position on the touch panel. The first and second
coatings may be different, such as when the first coating comprises
a conductive layer comprising aluminum and the second coating
comprising a conducive layer comprising silver. There may be
another polymer inclusive laminating layer (e.g., PVB or EVA)
provided between at least the first and second coatings.
[0042] In the projection screen capacitive touch panel of any of
the preceding sixteen paragraphs, the diffuse surface (e.g., acid
etched diffuse surface) may have an average surface roughness (Ra)
of from 0.2 to 26 .mu.m, more preferably from 0.4 to 3.2 .mu.m, and
most preferably from 1 to 3 .mu.m.
[0043] The forgoing exemplary embodiments are intended to provide
an understanding of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the
art. The forgoing description is not intended to limit the
inventive concept described in this application, the scope of which
is defined in the following claims.
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